$1.4B Live Selling Playbook: How Kim Gravel Turned Connection Into a Commerce Empire

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Okay, so we've got a new episode of Legends and Leaders and today it's great to have Kim here. Kim, you are somebody who has had, you know, quite a journey so far and the journey's continuing. Um but you've went, you know, from just backgrounds that I guess, you know, wouldn't really go into the live selling world to having an incredible amount of success selling over a billion dollars through live shopping. Um and now you have a a playbook that you put out on this whole journey of yours and you know, what what you've learned, some of the greatest lessons you've taken away.

[00:00:29]So I'm excited to have you talk about uh your story and it's great to have you on.

[00:00:33]Great to be here. I'm excited. Yeah, it's it's been a journey, man. I mean, you know, entrepreneurship and you know this first hand cuz you talk to a lot of people about this, but you know, the business world is it's the same but yet it's like the new frontier. I Or let's not say that. I'm I'm going to call it the Wild Wild West right now and you don't know if you've ever watched any of those old movies about the Wild Wild West. It's like you can almost stake and grab land in this live social selling world like crazy. It is never um a more exciting time to be an entrepreneur and to be in business today because everything is up for grabs. The customer, the landscape, the platform, the the the audience, the manufacturing side of it. I mean, it's just exciting um because brands are wanting live social sellers and then people are like How can I say it? It's like an all you can eat buffet digesting all of this content. This is the new mall. This is the new entertainment television is is is a device you hold in your hand and watch people do their thing. So Yeah, thanks for having me and I'm passionate, as you can tell, about this subject.

[00:01:47]Yes.

[00:01:48]But first of all, I love to start with what got you interested in live shopping. Like was this something you set out to do? Did it kind of just happen? You know, how did you get in that world?

[00:01:58]Well, that you know, QVC, which is like the OG of live selling, you know, as far as e-commerce, too.

[00:02:06]Um and social media and they were social media before social media exist over like almost 40 years ago.

[00:02:11]So I grew up watching it. Like my mom, my mom's friends, everybody was watching and shopping on QVC. And when I turned about 42 or 43, which I know I don't look that old, so I'm just going to save you that compliment, just save it for myself cuz the older you get, the more you realize Oh God, I'm 54. I'm what my mom was when she was watching QVC and I was coming up. You know what I'm saying?

[00:02:36]So it's like it's this big like full circle moment. Um I was approached and asked to be a host on QVC when I was in my late 30s, maybe early 40s. I think it was like I think it was more like late 30s. Anyway, time flies.

[00:02:51]And I remember watching it going, oh I could do that, but I don't want to do that. I want to make something and do that. Do you know what I'm saying? I want to go on and be a person of business on there. And so 10 years later, I launched my first um product on QVC. It was a jean called Flexibelle. And so it was a full circle moment for me.

[00:03:14]Little did I know that television would take a sharp left and now become, you know, accessible to everybody for free in their hands. So like that groundwork for me was being laid at 46 when I launched on QVC. But I'm here to tell everybody, that's why I did this course, that now everybody can can do the QVC method and the QVC way on their own platform. I mean, look at what you're doing right now with your with your pod. I mean, you're reaching thousands and thousands and tens of thousands of people with your message. And so Wow, that's freedom, right? That that's you hold your financial fate in your own hands and I don't know about you, but I dig that a lot. I do, too.

[00:04:02]It's the best way to be. You have to have this control over your destiny.

[00:04:05]Yes.

[00:04:07]That excites me.

[00:04:09]Yes. [snorts] I I totally am aligned. Um when you think about just like some of these products that, you know, you've helped sell. Like you mentioned the jeans idea you had. Where do these ideas come from? How do they originate?

[00:04:23]They're very interesting ideas.

[00:04:26]Um you know, invention is the um is is the mother of necessity. I think that's the line. I don't know if there's a little saying about that. Like really because I had gained 50 lb having my children and I'm a denim girl. I live in the South and we're denim nation all over the world. And I wanted a denim that stretched and didn't stretch out. And so I was sitting with my mother at her kitchen table who's like Miss Fashionista. I mean, my mom has style for days. She's 78 but looks like 60.

[00:04:57]And she threw a pair of jeans over a table over her kitchen table and said, I want you to make these. I'm like, I don't know anything about making jeans, you know, I I mean, I might have sewed a few curtains and, you know, made a few patterns for a couple of things, but and I just thought, yeah, why don't I make those?

[00:05:15]And so I started that or I started it organically. So I say to people when they're saying, I don't know what to sell, I don't know how to make something, you don't even have to make it yourself. You just have to love it.

[00:05:27]So everything to me starts in an organic seedling form. So I always say to people, like doing what you're doing.

[00:05:36]You must love to talk to people and hear their stories. Start doing things that you love.

[00:05:41]That you enjoy. That you use. That you like. Maybe it's your favorite deodorant. Maybe it's your favorite like makeup. Maybe it's your favorite, you know, you know, undergarments. Maybe it's your favorite bra. I mean, go crazy. Whatever. There's no limit. But you got to it has to start organically or for me it did of something I love and or something I saw a need for. For even myself, not for the world. Don't think big, think small, think one-on-one.

[00:06:06]And um and go make that or sell that or try that.

[00:06:10]That's what I That's how I started.

[00:06:12]Mhm.

[00:06:13]And and just figuring out like how to make it. Like how did you learn how to do that?

[00:06:18]Google and God.

[00:06:20]I always say this. I say people I say to people all the time, you can figure anything out with Google and God. I I did. I just started Googling. The thing about Let me tell you that cuz it's kind of like a I don't want you to think I'm woo-woo, super spiritual or whatever, but I I got to keep it 100% real with you because people often think we're such we're in our heads all the time. And I don't know, are you a brainiac? Are you I I can look at you and tell you're pretty smart.

[00:06:46]I don't know about the brainiac.

[00:06:48]But you know what I'm saying? Like Like I I I don't even have a college degree, right? So I went to high school, barely got out. Yeah. Okay. And then I went to I went to cuz I'm a clearly a social butterfly and probably don't like to study as much as I should.

[00:07:02]And then when I went to college, I kind of hunkered down so I could make the Dean's list so I could go in as Georgia.

[00:07:06]So there was a there was an outcome for me to even be book smart in college. So I say all that to say I'm very common sense smart. And I can look at you and tell you're really intelligent. But for a lot of people, and I'm saying this to every business entrepreneur out there, I'm saying this to everybody that's even interested in becoming an entrepreneur, you got to get out of your head.

[00:07:28]Okay? You got to have a plan and you work that plan, but you've got to be uber flexible, pliable, and pivotable.

[00:07:37]Okay? You've got to be able to let things unfold. And I mean, it's happening right now in a business I started with a friend and we were going down one path and I'm telling you on paper, Ben, on paper, it should be killing it. Okay? We got our business plan. We got the two pe two and popped dots and dotted the eyes and crossed the tees and all that stuff.

[00:08:01]And it's just it's a little bit draggy.

[00:08:04]But out of that has come this beautiful consulting opportunity that I never saw for myself.

[00:08:11]And so when I say that you've got to be flexible and pliable in business, you've got to be you got to have that common sense compass.

[00:08:20]You've got to you you've got to have your plan and you've got to do all that.

[00:08:24]That's all good. But you're never going to outsmart the soulful spiritual aspect of business. Business is a heartbeat. Let me tell you why.

[00:08:35]It's a heartbeat because it's real and alive because you're dealing and connecting with people.

[00:08:42]And you know, I don't know, are you married or dating anybody, Ben? Not right now. Have you done it in the past?

[00:08:48]Yeah. Okay. So you know, relationships it's really intimate and personal, right? So anytime you're dealing with people, it's more than just a product.

[00:09:00]Cuz I often say this to all lot of entrepreneurs, business owners, and founders.

[00:09:05]And live social sellers, you're not in the product business, you're in the people business. And so there has to be this soulful part of that, that intimacy, that passion that's within the product or behind the product or behind what you do what you do.

[00:09:22]Cuz Ben, I'm telling you, even with your podcast, if you're not passionate about it, no one else is going to be.

[00:09:29]Now I've gone to preaching. I'm going to let you I'm going to let you say something else. But does that make sense? That's what drives me.

[00:09:34]Is that soulful connection to people.

[00:09:38]I mean, yeah, it's it makes a lot of sense. I I think also like you can sense the passion. You have to have passion for any area you're going to really apply yourself to.

[00:09:47]Dude, and you How old are you? You're young to even know that. Like honestly.

[00:09:50]You are How old are you?

[00:09:53]26.

[00:09:54]Oh God, Ben, you're so ahead of the game, my friend.

[00:09:57]You are so ahead of the game, dude.

[00:10:00]Good for you that you get that. Do you know what I'm saying?

[00:10:03]Yeah.

[00:10:05]Yeah.

[00:10:06]So, Kim, I mean, one part of it is, you know, you have to like what you're doing and you know, there's the aspect of interacting people, but you know, in terms of sales, like, you know, you've sold, you know, tens of millions of units of products. Like, is there techniques you've developed over time that you figured out like this is how you sell successfully besides the connection piece with somebody and you know, how do you sell How do you sell well?

[00:10:29]Well, I say you can't connect unless you prepare. So, to answer your question, yes, there is techniques. There are tips and tricks.

[00:10:36]And that's why I created this course selling with soul because then I it took me almost 10 years to collect all that information and not only collect it, but trial and error. You know what I'm saying? And figuring out really what works. Um the connection is is is like you said is that ultimate, but how do you get there? So, yes, there are tips and tricks on how to navigate what connects. Um I'll give you a little I'll give you a little you know, nugget, little tidbit here about one of the things. It's storytelling and it's knowing your why, but then sharing your story. So many people think that like displaying, demonstrating a product is fascinating. It It can be after you have told your story about why you love this product or your story about why you love your podcast. Do you know what I'm saying? About People want to hear your story. So, I always tell people when they come to work with me and you know, I mentor them or just you know, talk to a friend about why their sales are not popping off in their lives. I always say, well, I watch their live and I realize, oh, we don't know who you are.

[00:11:55]We We don't know your story. And so, that's the first step of really being successful in converting your lives into a sell-through of product.

[00:12:08]And it's more than marketing.

[00:12:13]It's more than marketing. And there is a technique and and I have it in the course and I'll show you step-by-step how to do that. But, you know, preparation before your lives help, too.

[00:12:22]But so So, so to answer your question, yes, there are steps, tips, and tricks that you can use to enhance your sales.

[00:12:30]Do you think that live shopping today on social media, you know, is very different from QVC live live shopping, live selling? Is it kind of 70% 80% the same? It's just a little bit different cuz of the format or is it like entirely different?

[00:12:45]It's It's the same. It's the very same.

[00:12:47]I'll tell you the difference. QVC does it better than anybody else because they've been doing it a long time.

[00:12:52]They're way ahead of their of their time. You know, in fact, a lot of these platforms have reached out to QVC on how to do that. Like TikTok and and even Amazon Live. Like a lot of people have really tried to do the QVC model, but you it's so funny cuz what's old is new again and QVC was the originator of the live selling and I'm telling you without a shadow of a doubt, Ben, it's the future. Yeah. Live selling on social platforms and any platform, really. That is the new mall.

[00:13:29]That is the new you know, that's the new way to consume and and buy product. I mean, if you go into your retail stores now, you might find one or two sizes, but you're inevitably saying Oh, You have a associate pulling out a pad and ordering it for you from online.

[00:13:49]That is the future.

[00:13:51]Now, going to the malls are going to be more experience-driven, Right.

[00:13:56]>> more so than product-driven, right? Cuz you order your product online even from the stores cuz they hard They hardly have it.

[00:14:05]New world, huh? New world. Exciting world. Think of it as opportunity. I tell you, that's what I always tell older women who are starting in this.

[00:14:13]They're like, "Well, I just don't know about the social media." I'm like, "Well, it doesn't matter what you know about. You better get involved and get going with it cuz it is It is here and it's here to stay." My father, who is 80 years old, buys nothing anymore except online. He goes walking the mall to shop just for people-watching, but when he shops, he comes home and does it online.

[00:14:31]He's 80, Ben.

[00:14:33]Wow.

[00:14:34]It's the future. It's here.

[00:14:37]What's fascinating to me, Kim, is that live shopping is a way of life, you know, in places like China. Like, but here it's it's not there yet. You know.

[00:14:46]>> It's going to be that. They've been doing it for decades and I mean, it's tens of hundreds of billions of dollars in in in sales. So, you're talking about we're behind in the fact that we're catching on as a as a as a business at being a business, but it's growing, I think, like by 30, 40% annually. So, you know Americans and when we get out there, we get going. We going to take it over. So, I mean, yes, the the the the China market's been going for years, but you know, it's just an exciting time to be an entrepreneur. It's exciting. And that's what I want everybody to to get excited.

[00:15:31]If you've ever had a dream or something in your heart saying, "Gosh, I want a little bit more." If you're tired of the hustle 9-5, maybe this can supplement.

[00:15:39]Do you know what I'm saying? These are different ways to get your story out, your message out, and start a small business.

[00:15:47]So So, Kim, you were stay-at-home mom and then you had this like revelation that you should launch a business. Like, how did you go from First of all, how did that idea come to you? And then how did you go from there to, you know, live shopping and QVC and and all of that?

[00:16:04]>> Well, you would tell you something, Ben. I don't know You don't have It looks like you saying You don't have any children, do you?

[00:16:11]No, not yet. Okay. And we so clearly you've not ever been a stay-at-home mom.

[00:16:15]So, let me just let me just break it down to you. I haven't. There It really really played.

[00:16:20]You're Ben, I wanted a break. I needed a break from the kids. It's I wanted something to do. I was bored to death.

[00:16:27]Being a mother has been um the most exhausting, rewarding, best, worst, craziest, exhausting thing of my life. I wouldn't trade it for nothing, but at that time in my life, I wanted something for me.

[00:16:44]Yeah. And when you become a parent, maybe one day, Ben, you'll understand what I'm talking about. You'll never understand it from from my point of view as a mother, but you will understand you you you give all of yourself to that.

[00:16:57]And so, I wanted a little piece of that for my a little piece of something for myself.

[00:17:03]And I just I just started doing what was available to me.

[00:17:11]Now, keep in mind at the time when I launched at QVC, social media was not the juggernaut it is today. I mean, it would We were on there to post our cute pictures and our new, you know, little pants or dress. It was not a selling platform like it was at QVC. It was the selling platform.

[00:17:27]And so, for me, it was just an outlet.

[00:17:30]It was a hobby at first that became a very, very lucrative business.

[00:17:39]It was a hobby for how long?

[00:17:42]It was a hobby of in the two years we were developing. Um our first show that we had sold out and so, that at that point, we started chasing the business, which become very serious and we've been chasing ever since. Can I tell you I'm I'm still exhausted, Ben.

[00:17:57]I'm still exhausted. But I get to be a mom and an entrepreneur and it's it's just been a total blessing. So, the the exhaustion is worth it.

[00:18:07]It's worth it. Mhm.

[00:18:09]Were Were you like this, Kim, when you started? Like, you had this energy to you and do you think that that's what kind of helped you sell, too?

[00:18:16]Yeah, I I I've always been a person that has been driven. Um but And I think a lot of people are, Ben. I think it's for people like Kim, I can't do it cuz I'm not like you. I don't have the drive.

[00:18:27]But people do have drive.

[00:18:29]People who are listening to your podcast right now, they do have drive or they wouldn't even be listening. Do you know what I'm saying? Like Like people who want to know about business and are interested in that, they have a little desire and hunger inside of them or they wouldn't even be bothering listening to this. Yeah. So, if if people say to me, Kim, I'm not like you. I'm like, but I beg to differ. I I think you are. If you're If you're watching content like this and you're even vaguely still listening after we got started 19 minutes ago, there is something in you that's that's driving you. The only difference is a lot of times what's stopping people from stepping forward is fear.

[00:19:08]Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of um the unknown.

[00:19:13]And that's why I created this course. I wanted a community to come together of all top different types of people from different walks of life, from different ages, from different ethnicities, from different all all different walks of life to come together and and and become financially one, financially independent, and two, that step into something in a safe space where they can get their questions answered and then they can get encouragement to do so.

[00:19:42]Because again, if you're listening to this right now and you're hearing my voice, there's a reason you're here.

[00:19:48]And [snorts] if I was to sit and talk to every single person that's listening this, Ben, I would ask them this question. Mhm. You know, you know there's more for you.

[00:19:57]Maybe this is it.

[00:20:04]Powerful question.

[00:20:05]>> Yeah.

[00:20:07]And you ask that to people?

[00:20:09]All the time.

[00:20:11]What do What do they say most >> You know, I always look at I always look at people's I can't see people's hearts, but I always look at people's fruits.

[00:20:19]Their motivation. And you could always tell motivation of people about what they say, but more more or less what they do. Yeah. And so, what I'm saying, Ben, and I've read all about your podcast, if there people listening here, it's it's very business entrepreneurial, you know, based, then they must be interested or have a desire to be an entrepreneur or be in business. Am I right? Does that make sense? See, that's just common sense. I don't need a degree for that, Ben.

[00:20:44]That's just common sense.

[00:20:46]So, if people are listening and and consuming this and interested in this, I'm telling you, then you have the drive for this. Then you have what it takes to do this.

[00:21:02]Mhm.

[00:21:03]I like that thinking. It's good.

[00:21:05]Seriously, think about it. It's logical.

[00:21:08]Yeah.

[00:21:10]Can you know, just on a little bit of separate topic, like what do you think is the future of QVC? Do you think they're going to adapt to live shopping on social and that's going to be the whole thing? Do you think live shopping on TV is is here to stay? It seems like kind of only live sports on TV is really the future of TV at this point.

[00:21:27]Yeah, I think I think it'll be a hybrid.

[00:21:29]I really do. I think and and there's no better entity to do it than QVC. You have to understand with live shopping, you have to I mean, all the biggies come to them for consulting, come to them for advice. They they model after them.

[00:21:45]The infrastructure that QVC has laid, meaning the customer connection, the product delivery system, all of that stuff is it also the entertainment of it all because it's now not just about going on Amazon and picking what you like. It's not all like going to the mall and picking out what you like.

[00:22:02]People want to be entertained as well as shopping, especially women. If women can eat, laugh, and be part of a community while they're spending money, you're gold. That is the future, right? Trust me, I'm that girl. I'm that I'm that young I'm I'm that woman.

[00:22:20]And so, to answer your question, yes, I think QVC is going to adjust from a social standpoint. I think the TV aspect will still be there. I mean, that is I don't think TV is going away.

[00:22:33]Um I think it's going to be a hybrid of all of the above, but nobody does it better than QVC. So, yeah, they're going to be around for a long time.

[00:22:42]Kim, just the last question I have, like what Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years? What goals do you have now that you maybe haven't accomplished yet that you want to accomplish?

[00:22:51]You know, I've accomplished a lot of my goals. I've been very blessed. Um but I've realized that my goals have not been big enough.

[00:22:58]Mhm. And the more that you step out and become successful, the more you realize, oh God, I need to dream bigger.

[00:23:06]So, for me, I would love a go global outreach to people, but in particularly women, and seeing them become financially free.

[00:23:17]See them become, you know, still mothers and still, you know, wives and daughters and sisters and all of that, but yet empowered to pass on their knowledge, wealth, and wisdom to the future. And so, for me, I see myself becoming a coach, a teacher, an investor, and um a builder up of young women in business.

[00:23:44]That's awesome. Well, I appreciate you taking the time and doing this. I think you've had an incredible journey so far, and it's crazy you have come to a point, Kim, where you want to give back and help other people become independent.

[00:23:55]So, I I love it, and I'm excited to see how the, you know, the program you've created is going to do and and all the people that are going to come out of that. Thanks for coming on.

[00:24:02]>> Oh, please get in touch with And Ben, thank you for having me.